The tragic consequences triggered by the recent sleazy anti-Islam film
"innocence of Muslims" have presented several challenges to political and
religious leaders in the West as well as the Muslim world.

They have also shown how an utterly insignificant act by a little known,
though malicious individual, could reverberate fast throughout the globe,
causing lethal and fatal repercussions and destroying and ending the lives
of innocent people.

The modern media, in its numerous forms, have certainly played a role in
spreading the sleazy film and also in provoking and infuriating Muslims.
None the less, the media's role hasn't exceeded that of the proverbial
messenger.

In the final analysis, the media didn't make the news, it just reported
it.

The anti-Islam film is undoubtedly a malicious and wicked act meant to
insult and provoke. This is what the producer of the film himself said of
his intent behind embarking on the cheap feat.

But Muslims have not acted ideally, too. They seem to have overreacted to
the original calculated provocation by attacking embassies and indulging in
violence, which led to the spilling of innocent blood.

I believe all sides, those who made, financed and promoted the film, as
well as those mobs that overreacted to it, are wrong.

But saying so is not enough, if only to prevent the recurrence of similar
events.

I urge responsible political and religious leaders in the West and Muslim
world to make every possible effort to strike a delicate balance between
freedom of speech and misusing or abusing that freedom, e.g. by insulting
religious symbols and offending religious faith.

I am not talking about legitimate freedom of speech and expression and
other civil liberties which we all value and respect. What I have in mind is
deliberately offending religious sensibilities with malice aforethought.

This is more than just an academic matter since ignoring it does
obviously cause the shedding of innocent blood.

Having studied at and graduated from a number of American colleges, I
realize how most Americans are jealously fanatical about preserving and
clinging to their constitution, especially the First Amendment.

However, Americans and others westerners ought to understand that the
religious and cultural traditions of other people, e.g. Muslims, ought to be
respected as well. The First Amendment must not be used as an excuse to
offend Muslims and their faith, as well as other religious traditions.

There are many wise people in America who could find the perfect formula
to resolve this problem once and for all. In the final analysis, the
American constitution was founded and shaped in a way that would protect
religion from the interference, hegemony and encroachment of the state, not
the other way around.

And it is not impossible to strike the right balance between freedom of
speech and the right of adherents of various religious groups not to be
offended. After all, one's freedom ends where another person's freedom
begins.

In some western countries, laws have been enacted against those who deny
the holocaust. And in America itself, the country of the First Amendment,
politicians and journalist think ten times before thinking of criticizing
Israel and Jews.

Hence, the visibly malicious discourse against Islam and its symbols in
the US and some other Western countries has more to do with a morbid and
hateful proclivity to malign, smear and besmirch and less with the
legitimate practice of freedom of speech and expression.

In the final analysis, my right not to be offended and insulted overrides
a scoundrel's right to malign the Prophet of Islam in order to satisfy his
sick Islamophobia.

The American Civil Liberty Union is likely to vociferously object to this
argument. And they would probably make many counter arguments which may
sound valid.

But the ACLU, which has done many good things and defended many good
causes, can not guarantee that insulting religious symbols will not lead to
further bloodshed. Which brings us to the ultimate argument that in such
circumstances when one is faced with conflicting rights and conflicting
freedoms, it is never enough to be right; one has to be wise as well? Hence,
the need for the delicate, fine balances between freedom of expression and
the right not to be offended.

I also hope that the tragic events of the past few days will prompt a
genuine religious dialogue between Muslim and Christian leaders. The task of
maintaining the peace, let alone building stable and friendly relations
between the followers of the great religions is too paramount a task to be
left for pyromaniacs on both sides.

We must start this dialogue right away. We owe it to the victims of the
latest madness to see to it that fanatics and ignoramuses on both sides of
the isle are not allowed to savage our faces and burn our hearts with the
fire of their ignorance and fanaticism.

The Prophet: The Ultimate red line

By Khalid Amayreh

"You shall certainly be tried and tested in your wealth and in your
persons, and you shall certainly hear much abuse from those who received
the Scripture before you (Jews and Christians) , and from the idolaters
but if you persevere patiently, and observe the commandments of thy Lord,
then verily, that will be an affair of great resolution." V. 186-SuraIII

By now it is still unclear who exactly produced the despicable and
malicious film "the Innocence of Muslims," which defames and abuses the
Prophet of Islam. The alleged producer has given many pseudonyms for
himself, apparently to elude the public and escape possible retribution by
angry Muslims.

However, by connecting the dots and in light of information provided so
far, it is highly likely that the author of the disgusting feat is a
Coptic Christian who harbors a pathological hatred of Islam. Earlier
reports suggested that the hate-filled bastard was an Israeli Jew by the
name of Same Baceil, but these reports have been discounted.

The author of the film seems to have received assistance and
encouragement from some evangelical and Zionist circles, probably
including Terry Johns, the Nazi-like Evangelical preacher who had
threatened to burn the Quran, as if doing so would remove the Holy Book
from the hearts and minds of hundreds of millions of Muslims around the
world.

Other possible accomplices are Daniel Pipes, another notorious hater of
Islam, and David Horowitz, an Israeli basher of Islam who spreads his
anti-Muslim venom on American campuses. Both Pipes and Horowitz reportedly
provided assistance to Geert Wilders, the extreme Dutch politician who has
been disseminating his hateful anti-Islam propaganda throughout Europe.

The producer of the rubbish film was quoted as saying that his goal
behind the film was to provoke and hurt Muslim feelings. If so, he seems
to have succeeded to a large extent in realizing his goal.

Millions of Muslims, especially those who watched the preview of the
promiscuous film, have been grieved, seeing the holiest and most saintly
man ever to walk on earth, portrayed in such a bad light, to put it
extremely mildly.

In several Muslim countries, angry Muslims have protested the
sacrilegious feat. In Cairo, thousands surrounded the U.S. embassy,
demanding the U.S. authorities to take action against those who abuse the
religious symbols of Islam. Hundreds were reportedly injured from tear gas
inhalation and flying stones

In Sana, the capital of Yemen, a close ally of the U.S. in the war
against al-Qaida, at least four people have been killed so far as security
forces tried to disperse protesters outside the American embassy.

In Libya, the American Ambassador and a number of the embassy staff
suffocated to death following the torching of a nearby building to which
the diplomats were previously withdrawn for their safety.

These are some of the provisional tragic consequences of the despicable
act which infuriated Muslims around the world.

It is probably useless to express one's sorrow for the death of these
innocent Americans and Yemenis. However, we should have the moral courage
to proclaim the truth and say what much of the Jewish-controlled American
media wouldn't say, namely that the blood of these victims is decidedly
though vicariously on the hands of the fanatical criminal or criminals who
concocted that piece of garbage about the Prophet of Islam who commands
the veneration of over 1.6 billion human beings.

Some people might sharply disagree with me by arguing that nothing,
absolutely nothing, justifies the killing of an innocent human being,
especially when the victim or victims have personally nothing to do with
the original provocation.

This is perfectly true and valid. However, things are not as simple as
that. In the final analysis, it should have been known that vilifying and
ridiculing the Prophet of Islam would provoke Muslims and lead to tragic
consequences.

In other words, the killing of the American diplomats was almost
inevitable, regardless of it being wrong and unjust. The American
government and its various intelligence arms should have foreseen these
developments before it was too late. Failing to anticipate these tragic
reactions is an intelligence fiasco.

More to the point, enhanced security at US embassies throughout the
Muslim world may help provide some security for the foreseeable future.
However, it should be clearly understood by the wise men in Washington
that a determined fanatic who feels deeply offended and hurt by this
virulent act of blasphemy against the Prophet of God could elude all
security precautions around American diplomatic missions. Muslims wouldn't
flinch from sacrificing their own souls in defense of their Prophet.

As Americans have their own idiots and fanatics, we, too, have our
idiots and fanatics. And as Americans are utterly unable, probably
unwilling as well, to stop their idiots, we, too, are even less able to
rein in ours.

Yes, we understand the First Amendment and all of this stuff. But you
must also understand that the Prophet is a million times more sacred than
the American constitution.

You may argue that Freedom of speech and Expression is sacred in your
country. Well, likewise, you ought to understand that for us Muslims the
sanctity of our Quran and our Prophet is absolutely more paramount than
the views and opinions of the founding fathers of the American
constitution.

Now a word to Muslims. It is perfectly legitimate to be angry and
furious about what happened. After all, Muhammed is the final and greatest
messenger of God to humanity. And any Muslim that reacts with indifference
to the sleazy film must check his faith.

However, our reactions must never exceed the bounds of what is
acceptable from the Islamic perspective. We must not hurt innocent people
under any circumstances; we must not target churches or institutions
belonging to Christians.

Doing so would achieve the morbid goal of the author of that piece of
hatred.

Similarly, we must not hold all Christians responsible for the
disgusting behavior of one idiot who claims to be a follower of Jesus
Christ. After all, there are thousands of sincere Christians who have
voiced their indignation and outrage at this outrageous act. We salute
these courageous Christians for their solidarity and decency. They are our
natural partners in the long and difficult battle for inter-religious
fraternity and universal brotherhood.

--------------------------------

Khalid Amayreh is an American-educated journalist living in the
southern West Bank town of Dura near Hebron. He graduated from the
University of Oklahoma in Norman in 1981. He also, received a Master degree
in Journalism from the University of Southern Illinois at Carbondale in
1983.

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